Ukrainian World Golf Challenge
2003Maui, HawaiiThe week of 16 through 25 October
saw Ukrainians, both golfers and non-golfers alike from around the world gather
at the Kapalua Resort in Hawaii to renew friendships, share in camaraderie, and
of course, participate in spirited golfing competition. It came and went in
what seemed like a blink.

Exactly 10 years previously,
and at exactly the same venue, the inaugural Australia vs. America Challenge
took place, and since then the Challenge has grown into a large international event
with many more participants.

Canada, as well as Great
Britain and Germany, first took part in the Challenge in 1998 when it was held
in Florida where Canada participated with a formidable total of 3 golfers and
an overall delegation of 4.

By the next tournament, in
Spain in 2001, the Canadian group had grown to 24 golfers, with 37 total
participants. The 2003 Hawaii tournament saw the largest number of
international participants to date, and Canada was represented by 31 golfers
and total 54 participants.

The sun-soaked week featured
many get-togethers. The Canadian group kicked off the week with a
get-acquainted dinner Saturday night at the Kapalua Bay Clubhouse. The
international Welcome Reception followed the next evening at the Village
clubhouse where the Americans were easy to spot, with their stars and stripes
American flag shirts. The Australians took on a more local flare with their
deep blue aloha shirts, and the Canadians were more subtle with maple leaf and
trident chain tattoos.

The opening Tuesday golf round
was followed that afternoon with a BBQ and pool party at the golf villas. Lots
of food, lots of drink, lots of people thrown into the pool. The water ballet
was delightful.

Throughout the week there were
innumerable informal encounters for socializing, sightseeing, making potato
pancakes, dining out at local eateries, and staying up way too late into the
night. As the villas were in close proximity, opportunities for chance meetings
led to familiarity and a comfortable casual atmosphere.

The golf competition took place
over the final 4 days of the week. The opening round was held on the Tournament
North course at Ka'anapali, followed on subsequent days at The Bay, The
Village, and The Plantation courses of Kapalua. The courses were astounding,
the conditions awesome, and the gentle breezes made for perfect warm weather.
The trade winds softened for the week, but the grain on the greens was strong.
Yes, all puts break hard to the south tip of Moloka'i, even if it is up hill.
The pros playing the annual Mercedes Championship at Plantation each January
also experience many of the same frustrations!

Men and women of all skill
levels played in the tournament, Whether the handicap was as low as 6, or where
36 is not nearly high enough, we all enjoyed the spirit of the competition.

There were exceptional rounds
played each day by golfers from all teams. Maybe a few rounds were too
exceptional. Nevertheless, the individual and team scoring was close. The
accompanying Tournament Results list all daily and final scores, including
individual longest drive, closest-to-the-hole, gross and net Stableford
winners.

The Australians played strongly
right from the start, and continued to hold a solid lead until the end. Team Oz
took the USA/Australia Challenge for the third consecutive time, and won the
overall team World championship as well. The Canadian team trailed in the
results, but did manage to squeak past the Americans on the final day to
capture overall second place. The team from Germany competed for individual
awards.

The Awards Banquet was held
Friday evening in the Village clubhouse. The friendly and happy atmosphere of
the tournament infused the banquet and prevailed well into the late night, and
it was sad to see the tournament come to a close.

It was good to have seen so
many new faces among the familiar ones from the past, to be able to come
together to re-acquaint friendships, forge new bonds, and as true friends can
do best, kick a little of each other's butt in competition.

The existence of this
tournament is attributable to the dedicated stewardship of 2 men, Ron Shymko
from Australia, and Roman 'Chico' Luzniak from the United States, who pulled
together these "First-ever" competitions. They thought it would be a
nice thing to get fellow Ukrainians, whether of Ukrainian descent or
connection, to come together from opposite sides of the world, to enjoy a
little friendly competition. Their vision and industry has pulled us all
together.

Ron Shymko's life was cut short
after a brief battle with cancer within a year after the Spain Challenge, and
all who knew him miss him dearly. The Hawaii competition was named in his
honour. In all this the fruits of his perseverance endure, and in this he is
still with us.

On a personal note, I was elated
to be a part of this gathering. I had the privilege to meet you and to get to
know many of you. The Canadian contingent participated in the spirit of the
event as it was conceived. Our participation has grown successively, and we
were the largest nation group in Hawaii. I have no doubt that, with our mutual
continuing and growing interest and support, this event will carry on for many
years to come.

The enjoyment of each
international event seems to eclipse the preceding one. Can there possibly be a
better place to host a golf tournament than Maui? We'll all know soon, as the
next Ukrainian World Golf Challenge will be staged in Australia late in 2005.

Bohdan KushnirPresident, Ukrainian Golf
Association of Canada

Click here
for winners in all categories the overall tournament recap.